May 9th, 2015

Kabab Khashkhash is fatty minced meat mixed with parsley, pepper, crushed garlic and spices, then shaped into kabab and grilled, served on a bed of tomato sauce.

Let’s make Kabab Khashkhash:

Tomato Sauce

1. Bring red tomatoes, and wash them.

2, 3, 4. Score a cross in the skin of the tomato.

5, 6. Place tomatoes in an oven dish, with cross up.

7, 8. Traditionally tomatoes are grilled on charcoal grill but I grilled them in the oven. Heat the oven at 390 – 480 °F (200 – 250 °C). Turn on the oven upper burner “broiler” and turn off the bottom burner “bake function”. Place the dish in the oven and broil till tomatoes are cooked, and the skin turns to black, for 30 minutes.

9, 10, 11. Peel the tomatoes.

12. Use a knife and remove the core.

13, 14, 15. Tomatoes are peeled over a plate, so you will not lose the juice which will you get during peeling.

Traditionally kabab is grilled on charcoal grill, but I used the oven and will show you different methods.

57, 58. Prepare skewers, they are either metal or wood. The skewers I used are long, flat and narrow. Wood skewers must be soaked in water.

59, 60. Divide meat mixture into balls, each ball equals to 60 grams.

61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68. Thread ball onto skewer into the middle, carefully mold the meat mix firmly around the skewer into a long sausage shape, wet your hand with water during the process of shaping kabab. Put skewers on an oven dish.

69, 70, 71, 72. Do same process with wood skewers.

73, 74. You may also make them without using skewers and put kabab in an oven dish.

75. Keep onion with skin, and cut in half.

76. Bring cubes of sheep/lamb tail fat “liyeh”, and season with salt and black peppers.

79, 80. Heat the oven at 390 – 480 °F (200 – 250 °C). Turn on the oven upper burner “broiler” and turn off the bottom burner “bake function”. Place the dish in the oven and broil the kabab and onion till grilled on each side, turn skewers from time to time for equal grilling.

Traditionally tomatoes are grilled on charcoal grill but I grilled them in the oven. Heat the oven at 390 – 480 °F (200 – 250 °C). Turn on the oven upper burner “broiler” and turn off the bottom burner “bake function”. Place the dish in the oven and broil till tomatoes are cooked, and the skin turns to black, for 30 minutes.

Peel the tomatoes.

Use a knife and remove the core.

Tomatoes are peeled over a plate, so you will not lose the juice which will you get during peeling.

Traditionally kabab is grilled on charcoal grill, but I used the oven and will show you different methods.

Prepare skewers, they are either metal or wood. The skewers I used are long, flat and narrow. Wood skewers must be soaked in water.

Divide meat mixture into balls, each ball equals to 60 grams.

Thread ball onto skewer into the middle, carefully mold the meat mix firmly around the skewer into a long sausage shape, wet your hand with water during the process of shaping kabab. Put skewers on an oven dish.

Do same process with wood skewers.

You may also make them without using skewers and put kabab in an oven dish.

Keep onion with skin, and cut in half.

Bring cubes of sheep/lamb tail fat “liyeh”, and season with salt and black peppers.

Heat the oven at 390 – 480 °F (200 – 250 °C). Turn on the oven upper burner”broiler” and turn off the bottom burner “bake function”. Place the dish in the oven and broil the kabab and onion till grilled on each side, turn skewers from time to time for equal grilling.

Mix all ingredients together until combined. Season with pinch of salt.

To Serve

Serve kabab khashkhash hot with biwaz salad and Arabic flat bread.

Notes and Tips

My oven is gas oven and it has two functions: The oven upper burner “broiler”. The oven bottom burner “bake function”. I can turn on both of them together, and I can turn off one of them and keep the other on.

80 g is the weight of 2 green peppers I used.

75 g is the weight of 1 1/2 red peppers I used.

Peppers were not hot, but of course you can use hot peppers if you like spicy food.

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on Saturday, May 9th, 2015 at 6:35 PM and is filed under Syrian Cooking, To Aleppo With Love.
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